No tech about us, without us
September 2023
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18 records. Displaying 1 to 18 of 18.
Global Disability Summit - Civil Society Consultations 2020
INTERNATIONAL DISABILITY ALLIANCE (IDA)
February 2021
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In December 2020, IDA coordinated with local and regional partners 4 (four) GDS consultations involving persons with disabilities in Africa, Latin America and Asia. These were the beginning of a series of more than 20 workshops that IDA is planning with partner organizations in different parts of the world, to assess progress made against national commitments adopted in 2018, discuss thematic priorities, and plan events, discussions and training for the run-up to the main GDS event in Oslo.
In total, consultations have been carried in 15 countries with more than 100 participants, reaching 5 (five) underrepresented groups: persons with intellectual & psychosocial disabilities, indigenous persons with disabilities, youth, and women
Bridging the mobile disability gap in refugee settings
DOWNER, Matthew
September 2019
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This case study highlights refugees with disabilities’ access to mobile services and the benefits and challenges associated with using these services in three different humanitarian contexts. The analysis is based on a representative survey of refugees in three contexts: Bidi Bidi refugee settlement (Uganda), Kiziba refugee camp (Rwanda) and with urban refugees in Jordan. It also includes qualitative data drawn from two focus groups conducted with refugees with disabilities in Bidi Bidi and Kiziba. The survey used the Washington Group Questions (WGQs) to assess prevalence of disability amongst the refugee population
South African stakeholders’ knowledge of community-based rehabilitation
RULE, Sarah
ROBERTS, Anton
McLAREN, Pamela
PHILPOTT, Susan
September 2019
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Background: Community-based rehabilitation (CBR) is a complex concept and strategy that has been implemented in diverse ways globally and in South Africa. Internationally, some stakeholders have described CBR as confusing, and this may influence implementation. A southern African study reports that there is insufficient evidence of the understanding of CBR in the region to influence training, policy and practice.
Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate South African stakeholders’ knowledge of CBR.
Method: This article reports on an electronic survey that was part of a larger mixed methods study. Based on the sample of 86 respondents, descriptive statistics were used to analyse the quantitative data and thematic analysis for the qualitative data.
Results: The majority of respondents had had exposure to CBR, but almost a quarter had no knowledge of the CBR guidelines and matrix. The results revealed varying knowledge concerning the key concepts of CBR, its beneficiaries and its funders. Respondents identified persons with disabilities as having a central role in the implementation of CBR. Problems with the visibility of CBR programmes were noted, as well as misunderstandings by many therapists.
Conclusion: The implementation of CBR, and its goal of ensuring the rights of persons with disabilities, is negatively affected by the confusion attached to the understanding of what CBR is. The misunderstandings about, and lack of visibility of, CBR in South Africa may hinder its growing implementation in the country in line with new government policies.
African Journal of Disability, Vol 8, 2019
Pedagogical Relational Teachership (PeRT) – a multi-relational perspective
LJUNGBLAD, Ann-Louise
2019
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This article presents a theoretical relational perspective of education, Pedagogical Relational Teachership (PeRT), which supports the development of new knowledge about teachers’ relational proficiencies to create opportunities for students to participate in their education and to emerge as unique individuals and speak with their own voices. Within the field of inclusive education, it is a relational approach where teaching is to be understood relationally. The fundamental bases in this inclusive perspective on education are the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Salamanca Statement. The concept of relational teachership is elaborated on to emphasise the importance of teachers’ relational proficiencies in the classroom. The article also clarifies how PeRT includes a multi-dimensional model to illuminate relational processes and relationships on different levels within the educational system. PeRT is a relational approach for scholars and practitioners, which can be seen as a new beginning and an invitation to a relational pathway that explores participation, accessibility and equity.
INCLUDE US! Good practices in the inclusion of persons with disabilities in Myanmar
HUMANITY & INCLUSION (HI)
2018
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In 2015, Humanity & Inclusion HI began the project: “Empowering persons with disabilities to contribute to equal access to basic social services and local policymaking processes in under-resourced areas of Ayeyarwady and Mandalay”. The project supported Disabled Peoples Organizations and other civil society groups to participate in the development of inclusive regional policies and programmes, and to promote good practices contributing to greater access to services for persons with disabilities. An aim was also to document, publish and disseminate these good practices throughout Myanmar, increasing awareness and understanding in order to sensitise people to disability inclusion and influence policy change. Rather than focusing on what is not working, this report seeks to shift attention to what has worked locally and how it could be replicated in other parts of the country, providing constructive, practical recommendations to decision-makers, service providers and other community groups in Myanmar. The report is related to two projects. The second is “Advocacy for Change: Fostering protection and rights of men and women with disabilities in Myanmar”.
There are global recommendations. There are seven good practices:
- Related to education: Case Study I: Promoting Inclusion of children with disabilities in Middle Schools of Ayartaw. Case Study II: How the development of the teacher training promotes inclusion of all children in education
- Related to economic life: Case Study III: How partnerships between private companies and organizations of people with disabilities can improve access to employment and vocational training
- Related to social/community life: Case Study IV: Giving the Myanmar Deaf Community access to information. Case Study V: How parental advocacy can make a difference
- Related to political life: Case Study VI: Community advocacy in obtaining the National Registration Card. Case Study VII: Supporting people with disabilities to participate in Myanmar elections
Community Action Research in Disability (CARD): An inclusive research programme in Uganda
HARTLEY, Sally D
YOUSAFZAI, AK
KAAHWA, MG
FINKENFLÜGEL, H
WADE, A
BAZIRAKE, G
DRACHLER, ML
SEELEY, J
ALAVI, Y
MATAZE, W
MUCURNGUZI, E
2017
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The ideology of Emancipatory Disability Research (EDR) reflected in the phrase ‘Nothing about us without us’, was first put forward in the 1990s. Although it aimed to place research control in the hands of the ‘researched’, i.e., people with disability, this rarely happens even today, 25 years later.
The Community Action Research on Disability (CARD) programme in Uganda embraced and modified the EDR approach, recognising the need for including people with disability in the research process from concept to outcome, and nurturing participation and collaboration between all the stakeholders in achieving action-based research. The research teams always included people with disability and staff from Disability People’s Organisations (DPOs) as well as academics and service providers. It endeavoured to generate and carry out research around issues that mattered to people with disability and their families. Leadership roles were assigned by team members. The objectives of the CARD programme were: (1) to fund teams to carry out action-based research on disability in Uganda; (2) to develop research and administrative capacity to manage the initiative within the academic registrar’s office at Kyambogo University; (3) to incorporate new knowledge generated from the studies into the ongoing local community-based rehabilitation and special education courses; and, (4) to ensure wide dissemination of research findings to all stakeholder groups.
CARD ran for 5 years, commissioning 21 action research studies in the field of disability and community-based services. This paper describes the process, presents the 12 completed studies, examines the extent to which the objectives were achieved and evaluates the experiences of the participating research teams, particularly in relation to the inclusion of its members with disability. It concludes with recommendations for future initiatives designed to promote validity, good value and inclusive approaches in disability research.
Training CBR Personnel in South Africa to contribute to the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities
RULE, S
2013
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Purpose: Recent conceptualisations of community based rehabilitation include empowerment of persons with disabilities as a key activity. This article reports on a study which explored the training of mid-level CBR workers in South Africa, with a specific focus on the ability of the course participants to address the oppression and empowerment of persons with disabilities.
Method: Over a three-year period, one cycle of action research was conducted in a non-government organisation that conducts mid-level CBR training in South Africa. Data collection methods included in-depth interviews with staff, students and past graduates of the course, document analysis, participatory rural appraisal techniques and two focus group discussions with the students’ clients.
Results: Personnel, who had been trained in CBR before the year 2003, were found to have some difficulty in explaining the social model of disability and the oppression of persons with disabilities at a cultural and structural level. It was noted that after changes were implemented in the CBR course, the students had an orientation to working with, rather than for, persons with disabilities. They began to understand the complexities of empowerment and also engaged in social action to address the oppression of persons with disabilities.
Conclusions: The CBR Guidelines require a new skill-mix in mid-level CBR personnel. This study illustrates a possible training approach which can contribute to the development of these skills.
African indigenous knowledge and research
OWUSU-ANSAH, Frances E
MJI, Gubela
2013
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This paper seeks to heighten awareness about the need to include indigenous knowledge in the design and implementation of research, particularly disability research, in Africa. It affirms the suitability of the Afrocentric paradigm in African research and argues the necessity for an emancipatory and participatory type of research which values and includes indigenous knowledge and peoples. In the predominantly Western-oriented academic circles and investigations, the African voice is either sidelined or suppressed because indigenous knowledge and methods are often ignored or not taken seriously. This paper posits that to be meaningful and empowering, African-based research must, of necessity, include African thought and ideas from inception through completion to the implementation of policies arising from the research. In this way the work is both empowering and meaningful for context-specific lasting impact.
Operational guide for implementation of IICCHAA project
INDIAN INITIATIVE OF CHILD CENTRED HIV & AIDS APPROACH (IICCHAA)
2008
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This operational guide provides a broad direction for implementing memory work in India in the field, based on a communication needs assessment carried out as part of the Indian Initiative for Child Centred Approaches to HIV & AIDS (IICCHAA). The guide is divided into two sections: how to roll out the training effectively at field level and some basic information about HIV and AIDS
What do we do with culture? Engaging culture in development
VINCENT, Robin
March 2005
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This short briefing paper gives a critical overview of recent attempts to engage culture in development work, and in HIV and AIDS work in particular. It also outlines a range of insights from anthropological work that relate to understanding and addressing culture in development. Areas covered include moving beyond a focus on the individual in analysis of change, looking beyond the local setting only, considering the role of the organisational culture of development institutions, valuing indigenous knowledge, and looking at the way mobilising culture and cultural resources is intimately linked to power relations
Working from within : culturally sensitive approaches in UNFPA programming
UNITED NATIONS POPULATION FUND (UNFPA)
2004
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The nine case studies presented in this brochure are drawn from a longer UNFPA report entitled, "Culture Matters: Working with Communities and Faith-based Organizations". It highlights the necessity of mainstreaming cultural analysis and sensitivity in development efforts addressing issues such as gender equality and equity, HIV/AIDS, female genital cutting, gender-based violence and reproductive health. Presents an outline of key principles for working within cultures in a culturally sensitive way, and briefly looks at examples of programming in a number of countries highlighting what works in each case
Making information user-driven
LLOYD-LANEY, Megan
March 2003
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This brief document describes the issues and priorities involved in making information accessible. It explains that tailoring information to suit your audience increases the likelihood that your information will be accessed and taken up. To provide user-driven information it is important to understand who your target audience is, what information they want/need, how they access information and whether you are trying to inform or influence your audience. With this knowledge you can provide the information your target audience wants, in media they can use, and place your information where your audience will look for it. If you are clear about who has produced the information, who it is intended for and its purpose, the user can make informed decisions about the value of your information. Involving end users in research is also more likely to produce outputs that are quickly disseminated and taken up. Awareness of the strategic role of information within your organisation can be enhanced by encouraging all organisation members to become involved in identifying information needs, dissemination and community building
Understanding the indigenous knowledge and information systems of pastoralists in Eritrea
DINUCCI, Alessandro
FRE, Zeremariam
2003
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This case study explores pastoralists' traditional natural resources mangement practices and their sources and channels of information. It aims to contribute to the development of demand-led extension and advisory services for nomadic herders in Eritrea, on the premise that sustainable development programming builds on indigenous systems of communication and information diffusion
Strengthening the knowledge and information systems of the urban poor
SCHILDERMAN, Theo
March 2002
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Presents the findings of a research project that focused on the information needs of the urban poor, and the information sources they access. The study found that the main sources of information were social networks, key informants, and infomediaries. It considers the role of information and communication technologies (ICTs), and impact assessment methods. It ends with suggestions for development agencies seeking to share their knowledge and information with the urban poor
The tyranny of participation in information systems : learning from development projects
HEEKS, Richard
March 1999
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This paper sets out to investigate and understand some of the problems of participatory approaches. It does so by recognising the parallels between debate on the role and value of participation in information systems (IS) development, and debate on the role and value of participation in development projects more generally. These projects aim to deliver development goals and they have frequently involved participation. They therefore provide fertile ground for learning about approaches to information systems development. Participation is seen to fail in such projects because it ignores context; because it is itself ignored; because it ignores reality; and because it ignores other factors. Based on this analysis, a more critical approach to participation in IS projects is suggested, with three critical questions identified that must be answered before participation can be considered
The Communication Initiative
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The Communication Initiative (CI) is a partnership of development organisations seeking to support advances in the effectiveness and scale of communication interventions for positive international development. The CI strategy includes provision of real-time information on communication and development experiences and thinking, facilitating horizontal linkages between people engaged in communication action, peer commentary on programmes and strategies and taking opportunities to promote strategic thinking on communication and development issues and problems. Themed sites within this website relate to: avian flu; HIV & AIDS; democracy & governance; early childhood development; health communication; ICT policies and studies; ICT for development; natural resource management; polio; and community radio and edutainment in Africa
Health e communication
THE COMMUNICATION INITIATIVE
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The Communication Initiative (CI) website provides information on communication and development experiences and thinking, facilitating horizontal linkages between people engaged in communication action, peer commentary on programmes and strategies and taking opportunities to promote strategic thinking on communication and development issues and problems. The health window provides a point of entry themed on health communication. The 'evaluation' section of the health window signposts to useful examples and case studies of evaluation
E-bulletin
Source e-bulletin on Disability and Inclusion